A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday will make another attempt to evacuate a besieged civilian city as Russian forces appear to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast.
Mariupol, which has been under siege since the early days of the Russian invasion on February 24, has been Moscow’s main target in Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region. Tens of thousands are trapped there with minimal access to food and water.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team yesterday to lead a procession of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles to leave the city, but returned, saying conditions made it impossible to continue.
“They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians,” the ICRC said in a statement. An earlier attempt to evacuate Red Cross civilians in early March failed because the march was deemed unsafe.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly agreed to open humanitarian corridors during the war to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of civilians from war-torn cities, with agreements not being met by both warring parties exchanging accusations of humanitarian operations.
The ICRC said the Mariupol operation had been approved by both sides, but was still considering important details, such as the exact time and destination of the procession, which would lead to an unspecified location in Ukraine.
In a video speech early in the morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian troops were moving towards the Donbass region and northeast in the direction of Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city, where previous Russian airstrikes had provoked areas.
“I hope there can still be solutions to the situation in Mariupol,” Zelenski said. “Everyone must react to this humanitarian catastrophe.”
In peace talks this week, Russia said Donbass, which it has supported pro-Russian separatists since 2014, will now be at the center of its war effort. Russian troops left behind devastated villages and their own abandoned tanks as they drove away from the capital, Kyiv.
Russia has described the withdrawal of troops near Kyiv as a gesture of goodwill in the peace talks.
Ukraine and its allies say Russian forces have been forced to reorganize after suffering heavy losses due to determined Ukrainian resistance.
Across the border from Kharkov to the Russian city of Belgorod, Moscow said Ukrainian helicopters struck a fuel depot on Friday, causing a huge fire. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the incident, the first of its kind in the war.
The fire destroyed several oil tanks and is likely to add short-term pressure to Russia’s already extensive supply chains, particularly operations in Kharkov, the Pentagon said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said the incident could jeopardize peace talks. Russia will strengthen its western border so that “it does not cross anyone’s mind to attack,” the Russian official later said.
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